Though the city of Slidell saw more murders in 2013 than it had in several years, statistics released Wednesday by the Slidell Police Department show overall crime in the city went down last year. Chief Randy Smith released the department's 2013 Uniform Crime Report, which showed crime overall in Slidell declined 5.6 percent in 2013 compared to 2012.

Police reported five homicides in 2013, up from two in 2012 and only one in 2011.

Errol Scott, 22, and Mark Womack, 23, were killed and six others were injured.

Leighton Powe Jr., 23, was killed Sept. 7 in what police said was a drug deal gone wrong. On Aug. 18, Clarence Adams, 28, was shot to death outside of a home in the 700 block of Walnut Street. And on Jan. 7 last year, Warren Pryor, 21, was killed in a Chase Bank parking lot on Gause Boulevard.

"I am proud to say that all of our homicides were solved within 48 hours," Smith said in a statement with the crime stats. "The message here is clear: Slidell is still a safe place to live and raise a family. I am proud of the men and women of the Slidell Police Department for continuously fighting the war on crime, and for doing their part in helping maintain the quality of life that our citizens expect and deserve."

The only other categories that saw an uptick in crime in 2013 were burglaries and auto theft.

Police first publicized an increase in burglaries in the summer, saying they noticed an increase in burglaries involving unlocked vehicles. Police made several arrests in connection with those cases and urged motorists to remember to lock their vehicle doors.

Other statistics show the number of robberies in Slidell decreased from 19 in 2012 to 16 in 2013, and the number of assaults decreased from 75 in 2012 to 66 in 2013.